


i thought i saw a sign, somewhere between the lines

by ashtnirwns



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: F/M, Lashton is probably going to happen later but it's gonna happen~, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-21 04:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3678096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashtnirwns/pseuds/ashtnirwns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sydney Mikaelson has known Michael Clifford and Calum Hood since they were children and she and Michael have always been practically joined at the hip. She's known among some fans of the band as the unofficial fifth member and the boys mention her frequently in almost everything they do.</p>
<p>During their latest tour, it's obvious Michael misses her and the other boys concoct a plot to get them together officially. When Sydney finally does arrive, she helps Cal and Mikey concoct a similar plot for Ashton and Luke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've moved this story from my main account, kris_m, to this one - simply because I think I'll be posting multiple 5SOS related stories to this account, and it seemed easier in my mind. Syd's FC is Kaya Scodelario at this point, unless I decide to change it. 
> 
> Everything in the chapter is pretty clearly labelled as far as timelines go, when it starts Syd and Michael are sixteen, and it jumps from there.

“Hey, Syd! C’mere! Mikey wants you to be in this Keek!”

Sydney glanced up, chuckling at Calum’s quite loud summons before she pushed herself up from the couch and padded along to find the boy in question. She was spending time with Mikey and Calum at Michael’s house, a familiar haunt for the three of them that had been so as long as she could remember being friends with the boys. She reached up to squeeze Calum’s shoulder as she strode past him, earning a quick kiss on the cheek for her trouble as she scoured the house for Michael, finding him in his bedroom - leaning over the foot of the bed with his head tilted back and talking happily into his phone’s camera.

“Ah, there she is!” He crowed happily when he spotted her, waving one hand wildly in an attempt to gesture for her to sit.

She snorted in amusement and hurried to join the boy, mimicking his position until she could turn her head and face him properly, “You called?"

He grinned brightly, “I did! I wanted you to say hello to everyone on Keek,” he diverted his attention for a moment to press a few buttons and began recording a new video, “Everyone! This is Sydney from Sydney.”

She rolled her eyes and nudged him playfully, “I fucking hate it when you do that.” She grumbled, earning a laugh from Michael as he grinned into the camera and held it away from them to ensure they were both clearly in the shot.

“Sydney from Sydney has a bit of a potty mouth, folks. Sorry about it.” He continued to laugh when Syd smacked him lightly on the arm, “Michael Gordon Clifford, I swear to God.”

“Ooh, she full named me, this isn’t going as planned! ‘Till next time, guys!”

He uploaded the Keek without another word and pushed himself to his knees before he tumbled back so that he was lying on his back on his bed. Sydney giggled lowly, amused by the boy’s perpetually goofy behavior and wiggled around for several minutes before she was lying comfortably next to him. “How many people actually watch those, Mikey?” She asked curiously, fighting a smile when his eyebrows furrowed into a playfully annoyed expression. “Excuse you, I’ll have you know that tons and tons of people watch ‘em. And I put them on YouTube. See? People are already commenting on that last one.”

She quirked an eyebrow dubiously, “Oh, really? It’s been like two and a half minutes, Clifford.”

Mikey grumbled and fiddled with his phone for several minutes before he shoved it in Syd’s face, “See?” He grinned crookedly, puffing his chest out as though he’d proven some great fact of the universe as she pushed his hand away, trying to get a better look at the screen.

“...Every single one of these mentions how cute we are together. And how cute _you_ are, which is a common fact, obviously.” She drawled, half teasing and half entirely serious. She’d known Michael since they were seven and he’d been cute as a boy but the older they’d gotten the more she’d started to realize just how attractive her best friend was and she definitely wasn't immune to Michael’s charm.

“Well, duh. I might as well be the cutest dude in all of Oz. I’m fuckin’ adorable, Syd.”

“That you are, Mikey, that you are.”

Michael grinned, rolling onto his side to face her properly, “Do you really mean it? Or are you just agreeing with me because you’re my friend?”

She blinked several times, frowning lightly at the question, “Where the hell did that come from, Mike?”

“Just answer, please! I swear I’m just curious.”

“I, Sydney Mikaelson, really think that you, Michael Clifford, are incredibly cute. Happy?”

“You didn’t have to be so snippy about it, but yes. I’m thrilled.”

She rolled her eyes fondly, smiling at the boy, “You’re a dweeb, y’know?”

“Mhm, sure do. We should go find Cal, he won’t know what to do with himself if we’re gone much longer.”

She laughed heartily and swatted Michael’s thigh lightly in jest, “I’m sure he’s off playing FIFA on your PlayStation again. The only thing he ever does if we take too long is tease us about what we were doing. And we weren't doing anything. You wanted to record a Keek.” She continued, stretching out on Michael’s bed with a satisfied sound, “Can we just stay here for a bit? I don’t want to play FIFA right now, and I’m seriously lacking in the Mikey cuddles department.”

Michael grinned and opened his arms, his grin softening into an adoring smile when Sydney snuggled into his chest without another word. He’d had a crush on her since they’d met in grade three and it had never abated as they’d gotten older. As far as he could figure, it’d only gotten worse. He was mesmerized by everything about her; the way her eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled, or just how blue they could be some days, or the freckles on her face that made her giggle when he traced his fingers across them. They’d always seemed like they were so close to being something more than friends and they’d just never crossed that line. He was happy, sure, she was his best friend aside from Calum and he loved her for sticking around regardless of everything but he was aware that his feelings were starting to stray and frankly, it scared the hell out of him.

Being as close to her as he was, he didn’t want to run the risk of losing her forever by admitting to his feelings but Calum had been urging him for weeks by that point to talk to her about it. Then again, Calum had also been urging him to talk to Luke Hemmings about maybe being in a band together and Mikey couldn't really stand the guy so he had no intention of doing that any time soon, so. It didn’t look like he was going to be admitting anything to Syd either, and he was sort of alright with that. He wished he could be a little braver for her, but he was too scared to try.

“Mikey?”

“Hm?”

“You’re the best.”

He smiled lightly and kissed the top of her head, “What’d I do?”

“Nothin’, you’re just the best.”

“Whatever you say, Syd. Whatever you say.”

* * *

“You know Cal’s going to keep giving you grief until you talk to this guy, right?” She quirked an eyebrow as she glanced at him, being careful not to trip as they walked to their shared Literature class.

Michael all but growled and tugged his backpack higher on his shoulder, “I don’t want to talk to him. He’s all like, little and shit and I just,” He paused and made a vague gesture with his free hand, “I just don’t want to talk to him, okay? Cal can do it if he wants him to be in the band so fucking bad.”

“Language, Mikey.” She chided him playfully, to which he rolled his eyes, “Fuck.” He deadpanned, flashing her a playful smile as they continued to walk.

“I’m sure he’s not that bad, y’know, he’s probably a nice guy.” Sydney hummed softly, nudging Mikey gently.

He was being incredibly stubborn about speaking to Luke, he blatantly refused to do it and it was all coming off a bit childish. His main defense was that they were sixteen and if he wanted to be childish he was damn well going to be childish and that was that. They’d been having this conversation for weeks now, well, Calum and Michael had - Calum had enlisted her help when he insisted that Michael would listen if she suggested he speak to Luke. Although, Luke didn’t seem very keen on speaking to Michael - she’d tried to talk to the younger boy and he’d seemed entirely disinterested - although she was sure she’d never seen him talk much in general.

“Look, he hates me - I don’t much like him. Can’t we just drop it?” Michael flashed her an annoyed glance and she raised her hands placatingly, moving to stand in front of him and smoothing the collar of his blazer with an apologetic smile, “For now, we’ll drop it. I’m only asking because Cal wanted me to. Don’t be so grumpy, yeah? You’re so much cuter when you smile.” She giggled and leaned up to kiss his cheek lightly.

“To class?” She tilted her head and Mikey grinned lightly, “To class,” He agreed with a nod.

* * *

**Three Years Later;**

Sydney sighed lowly as she checked the contact list on her Skype for the fourth time in the last ten minutes, she was expecting a call from one of the boys at any moment and it was making her antsy waiting for them. Although, they’d decided to tease her and refused to tell her which of them was going to call so she was left to wait and hope they didn’t forget. Just as the thought occurred to her, the Skype ringtone blared from her computer and she fumbled to answer the call, being immediately greeted by Ashton and his familiarly dimpled smile.

“Hey, Ash!” She greeted brightly, waving unnecessarily as her voice trailed off into an excited giggle. It had been a couple weeks since she’d had the chance to actually speak to the boys and they’d made it a point to mention her in a recent interview which had surprised the hell out of her.

“Hey, Syd!” Ash waved, appearing equally as excited. He was such a genuine person that she found it hard not to smile when she was around him and she was sure that if she had to pick a best friend out of all the boys with the exception of Mikey, it would probably be Ashton. Although she loved all of them dearly and it was incredibly hard to be away from any of them, let alone all of them.

“Who’s idea was it to mention me in that interview?” She asked lightly, grinning to indicate that she really wasn't all that put out about it, she was mostly curious.

Ashton made a show of scratching his head and made faces in thought until she was a mess of giggles and he was all smiles, “Mikey’s, really. I mean, they were just asking us the usual questions, y’know - about relationships and stuff. Asked the whole, ‘do you have anyone special at home’ thing, and Mikey just popped off immediately.” He laughed cheerfully and she couldn't help but smile.

She’d watched the interview over and over again on YouTube, and she knew Ash wasn't kidding - they’d asked and Mikey had immediately brightened, “Oh, yeah! I mean, none of us are dating her but we've got this friend, Sydney from Sydney,” She remembered his particularly cheeky grin and her chest ached for a moment, “She’s really, really awesome. She’s known Calum and I since, well-” He’d paused and leaned across Luke to look at Calum, “How long’s it been now? Forever, right?”

Calum laughed, “Yeah, forever. Since grade five for me, she’s really cool, we all love her. Right, lads?” None of the boys skipped a beat in replying in the positive and she’d blushed so hard she was sure she was going to combust.

“Where are the other trouble makers?” She asked with a smile, tilting her head as she settled down for what she hoped was going to be a long conversation.

“Trouble makers,” Ashton snorted in mock offense, “I’m offended by these accusations, Sydney Mikaelson. I’m an angel.”

She giggled loudly and shook her head in amusement, “Oh yeah, Irwin, you’re a real saint.”

He nodded firmly, “I know I am! And I’ll tell you after I say one thing, how were exams?”

She made a face, “Ugh, horrible. I mean, I did well but thank fuck I never have to do it again.”

“Good! I mean, now you’re officially the smartest unofficial member of this band.” He stuck his tongue out playfully and she flipped him off, laughing the entire time and laughing harder when a blonde blur nearly bowled Ashton over. “Luke, is that you?”

Luke smirked at the camera and nodded several times, “Last I checked, uh-huh. I was coming to drag Ash away because Mikey’s playing FIFA and pouting because Ashton is ‘monopolizing your time’,” He added the last bit with an eye roll and sarcastic air quotes and tugged on Ashton’s arm gently, “C’mon, Ash. Before Mike strains something.”

Ashton laughed heartily and winked at the camera, “I’ll text you later, Syd.”

“Sounds like a plan, weirdo.” She teased with a wink of her own, waiting patiently for Michael to take up the space Luke and Ashton had just vacated.

As much as she tried to deny it, she was well aware that she missed Michael the most. They’d been practically attached to the hip every day up until “banding” in Luke’s living room had turned into “banding” on tour with One Direction and going from hotel to hotel and hardly ever being around. She’d been lucky enough to go along with them on their solo tour in the US and she’d had such a good time and met so many of their fans it made her head spin. They were some of the sweetest people she’d ever met and she appreciated that they appreciated the boys as much as they deserved. She’d spoken to many of them and they’d all been nothing but kind when she mentioned that she’d been friends with Mikey and Calum since they were kids and she was basically their biggest supporter next to their own parents.

It wasn't like it wasn't the truth. Of course, it had been hard being on tour with the boys, as the constant paparazzi and the constant rumors and trying to pretend that watching girls try to get into their pants didn’t made her jealous. Despite all of that, she’d loved it - being with them while they did the thing they adored and getting to see places she’d never dreamed of being able to see.

This time around though, she’d had exams and they’d kept her in Sydney while the boys went back to their house in London to tour with One Direction yet again. She’d initially been upset she couldn't go with them but she made it a point to tweet about them and text them and maintain contact in any way she possibly could - it didn’t hurt that the boys wouldn't stop talking about how much they missed their unofficial fifth member.

“Syd!” Michael’s voice was practically shrill in his excitement she was positive her own smile could split her face if she let it.

“Hi, handsome. I see you’re working the blonde hair again.”

He grinned happily, “Yeah, but it’s not as bright as it was before I starting dyeing it. Does it look okay?” He made a show of fiddling with his hair as if in a panic and she snickered softly, “It looks fine, you dork. It always looks fine, you've never dyed your hair a color I haven’t liked.”

“That’s true,” He hummed in agreement, “But you’re biased, ‘cause you think I’m hot.”

She blushed brightly and rolled her eyes, “Fuck off, Clifford.”

“Admit it!” He sing-songed until she was grumbling about it and he was practically in stitches on the other end of the call.

“Fine, you’re kind of attractive.” She mumbled, making a show of crossing her arms and huffing.

“Only kind of? You wound me, Syd. You really do.”

“You’ll recover, I promise you.”

“Hardly. I’m going to be heartbroken forever because you don’t think I’m hot.” He pouted and the silence settled between them in a way that made her miss him all over again.

“I miss you, Mikey.” She muttered, picking at a string on her shirt as she stared down at her keyboard, feeling her eyes burn with tears almost instantly. She hated crying with a passion, but it felt like forever since she’d seen him and it just wasn't something she enjoyed.

He frowned and sighed lowly, “I miss you too, Syd. I miss you a lot.” He replied, his voice cracked a bit at the end and she glanced up, “I’d visit you if I could, you know that.”

“I know you would.” He huffed out a laugh, “The girls that keep trying to pick me up at parties wouldn't really like that, I bet.”

She shrugged, “They’d just have to suck it up. I wouldn't let you out of my sight if I were with you, I miss you too much for that.” It was honest, and they were always honest with each other without really divulging full details of their feelings.

She knew she was attracted to Michael and she knew she had been since they were in college and it was painfully obvious every day she was away from the boys that it was something she wanted to tell him. She thought it was a bit fucked, because she wanted him to enjoy everything that was happening to them but she wanted to be by his side physically and emotionally the entire way. She wanted to be able to hold his hand and kiss him in public and tell everyone that she was Michael Clifford’s girlfriend and she couldn't even figure out how to go about talking to him about it even when they shared everything with each other.

Michael was having a similar dilemma, he wanted to tell Syd the way he felt but all the words got jammed in his throat and he could never get them out. He’d written a few songs about it to try and get them out but even that hardly helped and he had no idea how to tell her that he wanted her around all the time, that he was lucky if he fell asleep without thinking about her, that he wanted her to be on tour with them so he could share the journey with her every step of the way. But words weren't really his thing and he kept quiet and hoped no one at home found out what an amazing person she was and took her away from him.

“We got your package, by the way! I think Luke almost cried about the stuffed penguin, Cal really liked the stickers you got 'im - he put one on his bass already, and Ash wanted me to tell me he loved you for the Vegemite and Digestives.” He spoke up after a few moments spent just trying to memorize Sydney’s features all over again, smiling when she laughed and his heart raced a little.

“Well, tell them I love them and I wanted to do something nice since I haven’t been with you guys. I’m making something for you, well-- writing it. It’s coming when I can finish it.” She explained quickly and Michael found himself wondering what she could possibly have for him.

“What is it?”

“I’m not telling you, Mikey. You’ll get it in a week or so, I think.’

“Aw, come on!” He whined.

She smiled gently, “You’ll just have to be patient, Clifford. I have to go help my mum with something, I’ll call you before bed?”

“Please do.”

“Okay. Bye, Mikey.”

“Bye, Syd.”

They both hung up in unison and wondered how long it was going to take to admit it. Or, as Calum observed from his perch in the living room, “They’re so obviously into each other, it kinda hurts.”


	2. Chapter 2

The tour was going better than the boys had expected and Sydney had half come to expect texts every night they had a show, mostly about how many people there were and how much she would love it, something she had no doubt about — she loved watching the boys play more than anything and she had an entire playlist on her phone dedicated to their songs exclusively. They did their best to talk as much as they possibly could, but between press, meet and greets and various other business things, she was lucky if she got to talk to them for more than ten or fifteen minutes on their busy days. It made her chest ache, how much she missed them — she tried to ignore it and focus on enjoying her year now that school was a thing of the past, at least for a while. She busied herself as best she could with other friends, and family but it still wasn't nearly the same as having the boys with her all the time — they just clicked, all of them, and it was like being without an important limb. If being away from them hadn't been bad enough already, the sheer fact that they'd taken to mentioning her at the request of interviewers on a nearly constant basis made her something of a prime target for people working for gossip magazines and other paparazzi. It was only a small concession, then, that they only seemed to really bother her when the boys were close to coming home and they had at least another month and a half, if not more before they would step foot in Sydney again. 

It helped to some extent that the boys had taken to obstinately assuring everyone who asked that they were, while not on a literal "girlfriend-ban", very focused on their music and the fact that they couldn't spend very much time in any given place meant that they weren't all that concerned with dating anyone. Without that small buffer, she was sure the media would probably hound her a lot more than they did but yet another benefit of living in Australia was that it tended to be so far removed from the mainstream media that nothing consequential ever really happened. Even with that in mind, she personally thought it was a small miracle that the media tended to leave their family and friends alone when the boys weren't immediately within their vicinity.

Speaking of the boys, her phone chimed loudly and it only took a moment for her to recognize Calum’s ringtone. She quirked an eyebrow and rolled over to retrieve her mobile, ‘ _We have a proposition for you._ ’

‘ _We? And, what proposition, Cal? Are you hitting on me?_ ’

‘ _You wish. And ‘we’ as in me, Ash and Luke._ ’

‘ _I think you mean Ash, Luke and I._ ’

‘ _Whatever! Just call me. Right now. Immediately. Do it._ ’

‘ _Okay, okay. Bossy._ ’

She rolled her eyes in amusement and made quick work of calling Calum’s mobile, “You summoned me?” She drawled playfully, grinning when she heard Ashton giggle on the other end of the line.

“I did! We have a plan.”

She hummed softly, half concerned, “That’s never a good combination of words from you three. One, what is it? Two, where’s Mikey? He's usually the one calling me with evil plans.”

“Okay, one — shut up, this is gonna be an awesome plan. Two, we can’t tell Mikey. It’s a surprise for him.” Calum replied instantly, prompting yet another quirk of an eyebrow from Sydney.

“A surprise,” She repeated slowly, managing a half smile when Calum and Ashton repeated the phrase enthusiastically back to her. “Okay, okay, what’s the surprise?”

“You!” Luke exclaimed excitedly.

“Me?” She blinked, hard, and adjusted her phone, wondering for a brief moment if the boys were just pulling some kind of horrid practical joke on her. Or if her mobile had just chosen that moment to pick up loads of interference and she hadn't actually heard them right at all. 

“Yeah,  _you_. Mikey misses you, it’s totally fucking obvious, Syd.” Calum replied and she heard Ashton mutter something about not swearing in the distance, although she was entirely distracted by what Calum had said in the first place.

“I miss him too,” She replied weakly, and she did — she missed Mikey terribly, not to mention the rest of the boys but there were so many things that could go wrong. In fact, they were the only things she could seem to think about as the plan began to take shape in her mind. 

What if the fans didn’t like her? What if Mikey started taking her places and they treated her horribly? She'd met them before, sure, but that certainly hadn't been all of them and meeting people who idolized the boys in a friend capacity was a hell of a lot different than meeting them as a girlfriend. It would devastate her, sure, but she was far more concerned about what it would do to him. He would be crushed. Then there was the distinct chance that her parents might not allow her to leave at all. She may have been eighteen but she hardly felt comfortable making the decision to fly halfway across the world to see her best friends without their approval. Her parents cared for the boys immensely, but they'd missed her terribly the whole time she'd been gone the first time she'd gotten to go on tour. Not to mention the sheer fact that she still had no idea how Michael actually felt about her - he could very well not be interested at all and then she’d be stuck once she’d told him, and she’d have to leave the boys altogether or find some excuse to stay, but in the aftermath of a rejection she wasn't sure she'd be able to do that so readily, as much as she wished she was a more resilient person... She wasn't sure she could handle any of that.

“Syd?”

Ashton’s voice snapped her out of her self imposed stupor and she cleared her throat lightly, “I dunno, guys. I don’t know if I can do it.”

“Why the hell not?” That was Calum. He sounded more than a little hurt that she wasn't already on board with their plan in every way and she nearly flinched away from her mobile as she tried to collect her thoughts.

“I don’t…” She trailed off and sighed softly, “What if they don’t like me, Cal? The fans. W-what if he doesn't- I care about Michael. M-more than I’ve ever cared about anyone outside my family and you lot and I’d be- I don’t know what I’d do if he didn’t feel the same.” They were weak reasons, every single one of them. She was terrified and they were the only solid reasons she could feed through her mind, but they could be easily torn apart and she was all too aware. So what if the chance of being hurt was there? There was also the chance that Michael would feel exactly the same way she did but she would never really know that for sure unless she agreed to at least  _try_  and find out.

“Syd, come on,” Luke had taken the phone, apparently, and she smiled lightly at the soothing note in his voice, “Michael cares about you, we all know that. You know that especially. He misses you, he won’t stop talking about you, everyone’s been asking him when he’s going to ask you out because it’s so obvious that he likes you. I’m using that word, like, super loosely. ‘Sides, the only reason we can’t date people is usually because we’re not in the same place most of the time, but you could come with us!” The enthusiasm in his voice made her smile before she could stop herself. If only things were really that easy.

She chuckled quietly, “I know, Lukey. I’m just worried, and scared. _Terrified_ , really. I want to do this, so badly, I want to fly out and be able to see all of you and actually figure out what the hell is going with Mikey and I but God, I'm fucking shaking in my boots about it. I'd hate for any of it to ruin our relationship— I love all of you too much and the paps here are already hassling me as it is, or trying to and I don't know what they'd start to do if Mikey and I were actually together—” She paused abruptly and shook her head although they had no way of seeing her, “Never mind.”

“If they come anywhere near you while you’re with us, we’ll handle it. Alright? We look out for you, Syd, that’s not changing.” Ashton explained firmly, prompting yet another smile from the girl.

“I know you will. I— you know what, I’ll… I’ll do it. I’m in. What’s your official plan?”

The boys took a few minutes to reply, if only because they were cheering too much to do anything more than yell happily. Finally, Ashton took the mobile back into his hands and started to relay the plan to her in a tone of voice that she could really only describe as 'ecstatic'. They wanted her to come out to their current tour destination, preferably on a night they were going to have a show — she would get ready away from the venue and watch the show from backstage. Before they played "Good Girls", Luke would pretend to call someone they'd decided on earlier up from the crowd and Syd would come in from backstage and surprise Michael. Then she’d spend the rest of the tour with them and after that, until they went home, and — in the words of the boys "she would be able to figure out her shit with Michael".

She only hoped it would work out the way she wanted it to.

* * *

The flight from Sydney Airport to Logan International seemed to pass in a blur, she’d fallen asleep halfway through and been gently woken by a kind flight attendant as other people were streaming past her off of the plane following their landing at the gate. As a matter of fact, everything seemed to blur terribly until she got closer and closer to the stadium. She’d been given an hour or two in between to shower and change and she hoped, absently, that she looked good enough for the event. As it stood, she felt like she was going to throw up on her shoes before the night was over and the sheer amount of nerves she was trying to deal with made her skin feel like it was tingling. She had absolutely no idea what to expect in terms of a reaction from Michael, her only real solace was the fact that the boys had promised to find her before the show, supposedly while Mikey was busying himself with working out a few details with their guitar techs or something of that nature. The exact phrasing had been fuzzy. The drive from Boston to Foxborough left her thoroughly jittery and she busied herself listening to music in an attempt to relax, nearly rolling her eyes when every other song happened to be something the boys had written, the universe obviously had a sense of humor she wasn't currently on board with. Wonderful. 

She was escorted into the stadium by a few of the men on the boys’ security team and her heart nearly leapt into her throat as a very large, very muscular boy all but bowled into her. She melted into Ashton’s embrace with a giggle, squeaking shrilly as he lifted her off of her feet entirely, spinning her around excitedly before he let her down and allowed her to step back and take a look at him. She held his face in her hands for a short moment, grinning brightly, “You've got to shave soon, Irwin, you feel like a hobo.” She commented dryly, prompting a snort from Ash as he took her hands. They’d always been incredibly affectionate friends and he held her hand loosely as she studied him.

“You've gotten so tall!” She blurted suddenly, laughing. “It’s like you all just decimated puberty in the last three months. God, it’s so good to see you.” She hugged him again, tightly, smiling warmly as he returned the gesture with a similar sentiment.

“It’s brilliant to see you too, Syd. You look great, as per usual.” He winked playfully, prompting a shier smile from Sydney than the action would usually warrant. She was terribly nervous, she wasn't sure that would fade until the show was over altogether, and with her luck, not even that would alleviate the shaking that had already started in her hands. 

“Very funny, nerd,” She mumbled instead, flushing harder when Ashton tapped her nose with his index finger, “You’re a looker, how many times do we have to tell you that?” It was rhetorical, really. They’d made very little effort to hide the fact that they all thought Sydney was cute, Michael usually doing so in jest and the other boys falling in just to see how red they could get her to turn. Ashton, however, had a tendency to give genuine compliments when she wasn't expecting them — it was just a part of their relationship that she’d grown used to.

She quirked an eyebrow as she bit back a smile, “Where are the others?”

Ashton peered back over his shoulder and gave a short shrug, “Probably busy making sure Michael doesn't stumble across you before we start our set,” He made a face, “That wouldn't be very good. Calum’s very keen on this plan going off without a hitch, y’know.” He laughed lowly, “Which I have no doubt it will. We’re due to go on soon anyhow, you get to watch from the back!”

He was so excited about it she couldn't help but smile as they walked through the bowels of the stadium closer to where they would be playing — it was a football stadium to begin with, so how she was actually going to be able to pull this off at all was something of a daunting prospect to her as she followed behind the older boy, listening quietly as he spoke. He was always so happy to talk to her that she was nearly always content to listen to the gentle timbre of his voice, especially now when it was one of the only things that was actually keeping her calm. Nerves tended to have a terrible effect on her and she was absolutely positive she didn’t want to start crying or something equally as mortifying before she’d even seen all of the boys.

As luck would have it, she never did run into Michael before they were set to go on stage and she laughed to herself as the sounds of “Are You Going to be My Girl” blared from their dressing room about ten minutes before they were due to go and play — it was a tradition that Ashton had started and the familiarity made her nerves ebb away at least a small fraction before she was ducking behind things and people to ensure she could avoid Michael before it was time.

Jesus Christ, she certainly hadn't expected to play super spy at any point in the night.

* * *

Seeing the boys play had become one of her favorite things almost overnight, she’d been one of the first people to see their gigs, and although they’d been almost laughably awkward at first — they were anything but playing at Gillette Stadium as she watched them all but float across the stage, every bit the confident, energetic performers they’d always wanted to be. She felt a massive swell of pride at the sight, and her smile, she was sure, could have cured all sorts of terrible diseases by enthusiasm alone. She loved all of the boys on stage more than she would ever be able to put into words and it nearly brought her to tears to think that the boys having the time of their lives in front of thousands of people were the boys she’d grown up with, boys who’d made her laugh until milk had come out of her nose.  _Her_  boys.

She felt a distinct feeling of terror for a brief moment when she heard Luke announce that they were going to be bringing someone out during “Good Girls” — for “a change of pace” he had joked happily, laughing when Michael had given him a look that blatantly screamed “What the fuck?” while the other boys had joined in on the laugh with Luke.

“Oh, god.” The words tumbled out of her mouth in something near a squeak as she watched Luke jog across the stage with his guitar supported in one hand and a bright smile on his face.

He motioned to her with his free hand, “C’mon,” He mouthed cheerfully, his smile softening when he took in how absolutely terrified she must have looked. He took a few quick steps in her direction, taking her hand and pulling her gently onto the stage as a handful of cheers began to echo through the space at their return.

“Everyone!” Luke called into the mic as he returned to his place at center stage, “This is our good friend, Sydney from Sydney. We thought it was about time for her to see all of you again!”

Michael, who hadn't yet caught sight of her, turned on his heel so fast she was momentarily worried he was going to fall over and she resisted the urge to tackle him into a hug as she bounded up to him, snatching the snapback off of his head and grinning at his playfully affronted, “Hey!” She settled the hat on her own head with a flourish as he watched. 

“Knock ‘em dead, Clifford.” She grinned crookedly as he stepped back towards the mic and smiled brightly, “I always do.”


End file.
